The Unite trade union has threatened to escalate the cabin crew dispute at British Airways to a company-wide confrontation by consulting 30,000 BA staff over a "co-ordinated response" to allegations of union-busting.

Tony Woodley, joint general secretary of Unite, said he was calling a meeting of shop stewards across the airline to warn staff that BA was determined to reduce Unite's power within the carrier. BA has consistently denied accusations, voiced by Unite and academics, that it is attempting to break trade unionism at a business where Unite has considerable influence by representing around three-quarters of BA's 40,000 staff.

Woodley said the sacking of 13 cabin crew and suspension of more than 60 flight attendants since an industrial row broke out last year indicated a further agenda at the airline.

"I am therefore calling an early meeting of representatives of all Unite BA members to set out the facts of what is happening in the company, in particular what I believe, in the absence of any serious proposals from the company to settle the dispute, is a plan to eliminate Unite from a sizeable part of the company and weakening the position of the union in the remainder, and to discuss the need for a co-ordinated and concerted union response."

Willie Walsh, BA chief executive and a former shop steward at Ireland's Aer Lingus, has rejected Unite's claims as "nonsense".

British Airways and Unite have held a series of meetings this year in a bid to end a dispute that has seen 22 days of walkouts so far. One meeting at the Acas conciliation service was abandoned after it was invaded by members of the Socialist Workers party. The main barrier to a peace agreement, Unite claims, is BA's refusal to fully reinstate staff travel perks that were stripped from the estimated 6,700 cabin crew who took part in industrial action over changes to their working practices.

The consultations with all BA Unite members are not guaranteed to trigger an airline-wide ballot for industrial action, which would take more time to organise than a cabin crew ballot.